Providers lack social media guidance

Social media is emerging as a powerful healthcare tool with a variety of potential applications, but a lack of guidance on how to use it poses a risk for providers who try, according to an article published Aug. 20 by the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Unlike established channels of provider-patient communication, “social media involve true online collaboration,” wrote Matthew DeCamp, MD, PhD, of the John Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. “Their abridged format, rapid dissemination and relative permanence underscore their potential impact on the patient-physician relationship and medical professionalism.”

Providers should follow the emerging guidelines for social media use, which include adhering to HIPAA, setting strict privacy settings for personal content and separating professional material from personal material. These guidelines are far from comprehensive, however, and there are a number of social media issues where no clear guidance is available. There is no consensus regarding how providers should behave even in some common situations that include, for instance, receiving friend requests from patients or using public social media material to influence treatment plans.

When they are using social media tools, DeCamp said providers should think especially hard about how they distinguish between personal and professional selves, how they present material that could be construed as clinical advice and how their behaviors could affect trust.

The gaps in social media guidelines for providers indicate the need for additional research, practice and education on the topic, according to DeCamp. “Unsettled areas suggest the need for an integrated program on professionalism and social media in medicine.”